Earlier this week as the weather improved, I took a refreshing walk on Pelham Island Road in Sudbury and soaked up the sunny rays and crisp and fresh air. The sky was as blue as it gets, and the sun was beating down on the lake trying as hard as it could to thaw the ice that covered nearly the entire lake.
The branches were still bare, dry and dead leaves covered the floor along with some piles of snow and ice that were still in abundance, and occasionally the mud squelched beneath our feet. Yet there was no doubt about it, Spring was getting ready to make a comeback and the warmth and the season of growth is just around the corner.
As I looked upon the lake, I noticed that the surface of the water nearest to the shore, was already starting to melt and thaw. The frozen footprints and tire marks could still be seen on much of the ice surface that covered the lake, along with an Ice Hockey Goal that was sitting on the side, but the ice didn't look like it can support anyone anymore, and I wasn't going to try it.
Just a little bit of warmth and the ice and coldness was thawing and giving way to the potential for growth and a new season of hope.
Indeed this Shabbos we welcome in the month of Nissan, also known as Chodesh HaAviv, the month of Spring. It is the month which contains within it the Holiday of Passover and it's message of miracles and overcoming challenges, and it is a time when we focus on the theme of renewal and of growth after a slowdown or shutdown.
In fact the Jewish calendar and it's complex leap year system, is based on a verse that describes Passover and it's message of hope after a stunted period, being specifically placed in the month of Spring which naturally conveys this very theme.
So despite what some may say, Passover is never early or late, it is instead when it is meant to be, in the beginning of Spring, a time of new hope and growth.
A little warmth and sunlight meant that the frozen ice would begin to thaw and could no longer support to much and would likely crack very quickly. Likewise a little warmth and light that we shine on our lives and on the lives of others will cause a warmer dynamic, that makes frozen and growth stunted realities begin to thaw and warm up, giving way to all of the inherent potential that we have all been endowed with by our Creator.
Good luck in thawing the ice and in enabling "Spring" to take place!
Shabbat Shalom / Chodesh Tov & Happy Spring
Yisroel